Opinion: The U.S. must continue to make sure terrorism has no place on the internet

by Boris Epshteyn, Chief Political Analyst

(Sinclair Broadcast Group)

EDITOR'S NOTE: Boris Epshteyn formerly served as a Senior Advisor to the Trump Campaign and served in the White House as Special Assistant to The President and Assistant Communications Director for Surrogate Operations.

In the 16 years following the attack on the twin towers in New York, the Pentagon and Flight 93, a lot has changed. Technology has advanced. Terrorist organizations now use the latest technologies to recruit, spread their message, and cause drastic harm.

Terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, and especially ISIS, have become masters at online propaganda and social media recruitment.

The internet has created an opportunity for terrorists to be bred here in the united states and act as lone wolves. It has allowed for terrorists to try to scare and threaten others. They have used social media and online resources to spread their horrifying beliefs and ways to commit terrorist acts.

President Trump announced last month that he was elevating the status of the U.S. Cyber Command to the same level as other combatant commands that oversee military operations in the Middle East, Europe, and the Pacific.

The U.S. Cyber Command has grown to a staff of over 5,000 since 2009 and continuously leads the fight against terrorists’ activity online.

Senator John McCain, and others on the Hill who are vocal about the importance of national security, applauded this move.

The bottom line is this: as the times and technologies change, our strategies for staying one step ahead of terrorists must also evolve. The U.S. must stay vigilant and up to date in our defense against terror, both on and offline.